FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - German family businesses significantly increased sales last year, but cannot keep up in international comparison. This is shown by an analysis of the University of St. Gallen and the consulting firm EY, which was published on Tuesday. According to the analysis, the world's 500 largest family businesses increased their sales by an average of 14 percent in 2022. The German representatives in the ranking increased with 6 percent less strongly than the competitors from Asia (plus 21 percent) and North America (plus 12 percent).

The reason for this, according to EY, is that German family businesses are mainly from industry, where large growth rates are rare. The companies from the USA and Asia in the ranking, meanwhile, often come from the technology sector and the consumer goods industry.

At the same time, the study shows how great Germany's traditional strength is when it comes to family businesses. According to the study, 78 of the 500 largest family businesses come from Germany. Only the USA, with 118, is more strongly represented. Seven of the world's ten largest family businesses are based in the USA - including the retailer Walmart in first place and the holding company Berkshire Hathaway in second place. Germany has two companies in the top ten: the Heilbronn-based Schwarz Group, which includes Lidl, and BMW.

"It's remarkable how well family-owned companies have come through the pandemic on balance - and that there was relatively little turnover in the ranking, which also indicates a high level of consistency," said EY partner Wolfgang Glauner. Thomas Zellweger, professor at the Chair of Family Business at the University of St. Gallen, pointed to the growing importance of family businesses from Asia.

Recently, family businesses in this country had complained about poorer location conditions. According to an analysis by ZEW Mannheim, Germany ranks 18th among 21 countries in terms of competitiveness. The industrial location has dramatically lost quality, criticized Rainer Kirchdörfer, Chairman of the Family Business Foundation, which had commissioned the study./als/DP/men